Since the beginning of time
people around the world have looked for ways to prolong life. Man has
stumbled many times in looking for such a commodity. Although there is
no such thing as ambrosia, alternative methods delve into hoping that some
method will prolong life even a little. Anti-oxidants
has been looked to in order to answer this eternal
question of prolonged life.

VITAMIN SUPPLEMENTS

Vitamin
A(retinol,
beta carotene) “Vitamin
A (retinol), a fat-soluble lipid
, is also known as
beta carotene. Vitamin A is essential to skeletal growth, normal
reproductive function, and the health of the skin and mucous membranes. A
deficiency of vitamin A can cause retarded
skeletal growth, night blindness, various abnormalities of the skin and
linings of the genitourinary system and gastrointestinal tract. The eye
disorders
that result from a deficiency of vitamin A can lead to permanent blindness.
Over consumption of vitamin A can cause irritability, painful joints, growth
retardation, liver and spleen enlargement, hair loss, and birth defects.”(http://www.encyclopedia.com)

Vitamin
C(Ascorbic Acid)

“Vitamin
C,or ascorbic acid is necessary to
several metabolic processes. Deficiency of vitamin C results in scurvyThe uses of mega doses of ascorbic acid to
prevent common colds, stress, mental illness, cancer, and heart disease is a
continuing subject of research. A large daily dosage of Vitamin C daily had
pro-oxidant as well as antioxidant effects and could damage DNA, the genetic
material.” (www.encyclopedia.com)

Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol)

“Vitamin E
appears in vegetable oils
as well as green leafy vegetables, wheat germ, and eggs.
Tocopherol is necessary for the maintenance of cell membranes. It is a
potent antioxidant. In large doses, it has an anticoagulant effect.”(www.encyclopedia.com)

Anti-oxidants to the rescue!

Antioxidant is a substance that neutralizes free radicals. This is done
through oxygen. As O2 molecules, aka free
radicals, linger around in the body they can be hazardous. In order to
stop O2 molecules from causing any harm, antioxidants combat the O2 molecule
with another oxygen molecule in order to make it stable and keep it from
wandering off. Anti-Oxidants are also found in rubber and gasoline in
order to preserve the longevity of the substance. If oxygen molecules
are not neutralized they combined with other substances to create oxidation.

OXIDATION

It is
hypothesized by many scientists that the main reason for aging is due to
oxidation. Something as harmless as the air we breathe causes the
breakdown of DNA molecules as well as cells. A chemical reaction is the
process of two molecules joining. An example is of this is magnesium and
oxygen which when bonded together forming magnesium oxide.
Although this naturally occurring element is beneficial with its many uses,
inside the body it is a different story. O2 which is a free radical can
bond with all types of important molecules inside the body, this process is
called oxidation. “Free radicals are atoms or groups of atoms with an
odd (unpaired) number of electrons and can be
formed when oxygen interacts with certain molecules. Once formed these highly
reactive radicals can start a chain reaction, like dominoes. Their chief
danger comes from the damage they can do when they react with important
cellular components such as DNA, or the cell membrane. Cells may function
poorly or die if this occurs. To prevent free radical damage the body has a
defense system of antioxidants” (http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/antiox.html).
As free radicals linger around in the body it has a natural tendency to bond
with other molecules good or bad. One of the biggest problems with O2 is
that it needs electrons and therefore is highly bondable. By stripping
the important molecules from DNA chains it causes the DNA chain to die.
DNA loss is another theory that claims DNA loss as the reason for ageing.
Other scientists believe that the bonds created by O2 can cause cancer because
of the build up of excess cells.

Health
Company’s perspective

The
main purposes of anti-oxidants are to promote a healthy life. Some
people take anti-oxidants in hopes for either dietary purposes and/or
nutritional treatment. Also anti-oxidants are said to slow down the
aging process. According to
www.thaiwave.com the founder of
the companies says, “As
we get older, the incidence of heart disease, cataracts, strokes, diabetes,
Alzheimer's, and some cancers, all increase sharply. Controlled medical
studies of people suffering from or at risk of each of these age-related
illnesses have shown substantial, measurable benefits from supplementation
with antioxidants.” The company also adds in foreign substances such as
Alpha Lipoic Acid, Coenzyme Q10 and
Tocotrienols.

According to (http://www.klsdesign.com/anti-ox/allabout-a-vs-d.html),
“A safe and reasonable adult daily intake of anti-oxidants for a beneficial
protective effect against free radical damage is at least 1000 mg of vitamin
C, 400 IU of vitamin E, and 200 micrograms of selenium.” There are
also different ways of intaking anti-oxidants such
are pills called Musashi's Mega Antioxidant
Formula or Pretorius Anti-Ox.

Dangers or Health supplement?

Natural anti-oxidants inside the body have been proven to prevent oxidation.
Vitamins A, C, E, and beta carotene are some of the main anti-oxidants used by
the body to fight against oxidation. Fruits can provide a healthy source
of all of the vitamins needed in order to maintain a healthy dose of
anti-oxidants. But, at the same time vitamins in the pill form may give
too much anti-oxidant. Others like Anthony T
Diplock claims, “The toxicity of vitamin E is low; no mutagenic,
teratogenic, or carcinogenic effects are known and
in double-blind studies in which large amounts of vitamin E were used in
humans, no side effects occurred.” According to SeonHwaLee “We have
nowdetermined that vit
C induces lipid hydroperoxide decompositionto the DNA. The compound4,5-Epoxy-2(E)-decenal
is a precursor of etheno-2'-deoxyadenosine,a highly mutagenic
lesion found in human.” Phrases such as you can never have too much
vitamin C and too much of anything isn’t good for you contradict each other.
In the case of anti-oxidants this is also true.

Studies often contradict themselves because they are done on different
standards. For example the first test which was done with lab rats show
that a lot of vitamin E is alright for the human body. In fact even a
large amount is healthy. There are a couple of problems with this test.
First, the tests were not done on human bodies. Secondly, how much is a
large amounts. And third, the time period of the study was not long
enough. Cancer which takes years to form can not be measured in a simple
test.

Conclusion: The DL on Anti-Oxidants

Many doctors and researches are optimistic that free radicals theory is the
reason for ageing and therefore except that anti-oxidants are the key in
slowing down aging. According to
David Felten, PhD, MD,
“Anti-oxidants provide benefits to virtually all the major systems of
the body. Five bodily systems and processes stand out, however, as meriting
lifetime protection because in those systems, disease and compromised health
occur over a longer periods of time. Those systems are the cardiovascular
system, the immune system, specific groups of nerve cells (neurons) in the
brain, protection against cancers and slowing some steps in the aging
process.” Fruits and vegetable diet is
preferred over pill supplements. Because there are so many anti-oxidants
out there it is hard to understand if every single one is safe.

Although some studies have been done with antioxidants there is no conclusive
evidence to support those antioxidants taken as a supplement can be either
healthy or hazardous. For example, it has long been postulated that age-related
cognitive dysfunction may be in part due to oxidative stress. On the website (http://www.chiroweb.com/archives/16/19/05.html)
“It has long been postulated that age-related cognitive dysfunction may be in
part due to oxidative stress. In this study, researchers looked at 442 people
between the ages of 65 and 94 over a 20 year period. They analyzed intakes of
vitamin C, vitamin E and beta carotene, and tested memory, recognition,
vocabulary and free recall. Researchers found a correlation associated with
better memory performance in those persons who had higher plasma levels of
vitamin C and beta carotene, and thus concluded that vitamin C and beta
carotene were significant predictors of memory performance.” In this
study vitamin a type of antioxidant was used but at the same time vitamin C
has other functions and can never really be proven that antioxidants were the
reason.

Many different people present evidence that antioxidants work such as doctors,
experts, and even alternative drug companies. It is true that
antioxidants do work but no one mentions that taking drugs will help slow down
the process of ageing. It is very questionable weather or not
supplements will work to prevent ageing. With constant studies done on
different standards it is hard to except any of the research given to the
public. It is true anti-oxidants do help prolong life but at the same
time, fruit supplements or vitamin supplements have not been proven to prolong
life nor prevent cancer. An excess of any vitamin can not be good for
the body and because of this the best way to get anti-oxidants is through
fruit.